


Fondue is just cheese and bread

by Halfling



Category: Captain America (2011)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-07-26
Updated: 2011-07-26
Packaged: 2017-10-21 18:54:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/228499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Halfling/pseuds/Halfling
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Howard Stark teaches Steve Rogers about fondue.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fondue is just cheese and bread

**Author's Note:**

> I really just couldn't get this out of my head. No apologies!

The first thing Steve noticed about Howard was the mustache. His first thought upon seeing him at the Modern Marvels of Tomorrow exhibition was something along the line of _I wonder what it would feel like to kiss that?_ He and Bucky had kissed a couple times before, when Bucky was going through a curious stage and Steve was more than happy to oblige his curiosity, but they had just been kids, and it turned out Bucky wasn't gay anyway. Steve, however, was. Not that he wanted to advertise that fact. Being 90 pounds means you already have a lot to prove, and being true to his own desires in that realm would just add another layer of complexity that he didn't really need. So he tried to put Stark out of his mind as he climbed into the machine Stark helped make that promised to make him the hero he'd always dreamed of being. But things don't always go according to plan.

The second thing Steve noticed about Howard was the way he looked at things. Whether it be a delicate gadget he was tinkering with, or a particularly interesting person, he looked at them with a stare of intensity that could make the gods blush. The first time Steve had been on the receiving end of such a gaze was right before the experiment. He remembered wanting to hide from those eyes, but having no where to run. The second time he fell under what he secretly referred to as "the Stark stare" was right after emerging from the chamber, several inches taller and several pounds of muscle heavier. He didn't feel the need to hide as strongly that time.

The next time Steve and Howard crossed paths was in Italy, almost a year later. Steve was trying to get out on the front line for the first time in his life and low and behold, Howard Stark just happens to have a plane that he's mad enough to fly into enemy airspace just for him. It would have been perfect if not for a comment about getting fondue with Agent Carter. He's pretty sure the two of them are together, and it shouldn't bother him but it still does. Just once he'd like a man to ask him to fondue, but how could that ever happen?

It was after Steve saved the day that he and Howard actually got the chance to speak. Weapons contractors and soldiers don't usually run around in the same circles, but catch enough attention and anything is possible. He'd been minding his own business, waiting to talk to the general when some blonde thing kissed him unexpectedly. He'd never actually kissed a girl before, and quickly found he didn't enjoy it. Of course Agent Carter would choose that moment to walk by needing him. "Waiting for the right partner, huh?" She mocked him.

He _was_ waiting for the right partner though, it was just a little harder than it looked to find one in his flavor, and even when he did find one, they were always taken. "How do I know you and Howard aren't-" he searched for the right euphemism, "fondue-ing?"

She stalked off in a rage, and he was tempted to do the same, but a voice from the corner of the room stopped him. "Fondue is just cheese and bread, my friend." Steve's heart skipped a beat.

\----------------------------------------------------------

"The moment you think you understand a girl is really the moment when your goose is well and truly cooked. That's why I stick with men." Howard clapped Steve on the back with a wink. Steve blinked, stunned. He'd been venting to Stark about Agent Carter after they established that the two of them were "definitely not sleeping together" when all of the sudden, that.

"You, uh?" Steve stammered.

"Aye aye, Cap'n. I know I'm not supposed to be so open about it, but hey! How else am I supposed to get a guy around here?" He said that last part louder than necessary and laughed when the last of the orderlies made their uneasy exits. Steve realized the two of them were suddenly alone, and that wasn't a bad thing. "So, Captain, do you like to dance?"

Steve was still in shock. "It's just Steve, actually, and I, uh, haven't done much dancing. I've never danced, actually."

The grin Howard gave him would have been scary on anyone else. "Well Steve, think we ought to change that sometime?"

"Yeah, uh, yes. That would be, I mean-"

Howard laughed and clapped him on the back once more. "Good answer! Now that you're America's golden boy they've asked me to deck you out in some fancier accoutrements, which means I need to get you fitted. How about you come by, say, tomorrow morning at 0900 hours? There might even be some bread and cheese."

"Okay, yes, I'll be there."

"Good! Nice talking to you, Steve." He saluted with a wink and left Steve feeling like he was going to pass out in spite of his enhanced body.

 _Did I just get asked to fondue?_


End file.
